Trends, as we all know, give birth to innovation (and vice versa). Since technology is improving so quickly, we have no choice but to use it to meet the ever-growing needs of people. In this section, we’ll look at which healthcare software development trends will have the most impact on the industry in 2022 and beyond.
1. Big Data
Big data in healthcare aids in the management of massive amounts of information on patients’ medical records. This cutting-edge technology can be used for many things, like curing individual patients, managing hospital performance, cutting costs, stopping epidemics, and much more.
Due to increased investments in e-health records, the workforce, and practice management solutions, the global value of big data in healthcare is expected to reach $34.27 billion by 2022.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
When it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare software, NLP (National Language Process) deserves the most credit because it serves a variety of purposes, including clinical documentation, speech recognition, automated registry reporting, and more.
The market value of AI in healthcare in 2021 was $6.7 billion, which is not surprising given AI’s utility in reducing clinical errors, improving diagnostic accuracy, lowering operational costs, and so on.
3. Remote Management
Through constant monitoring, this medical IT trend facilitates communication between healthcare professionals and patients. Doctors can access their patients’ critical health data, share important data, provide high-quality medical services, and save money and time with a set of wearable medical devices.
4. The Internet of Things in Medicine (IoMT)
IoMT is a networked ecosystem of medical services, applications, and devices that provide critical care to people in remote and rural areas, as well as those who are unable to leave their homes. The IoT market is expected to reach $142.45 billion by 2026, owing to the high demand for these technologies.
Some of the key advantages of IoMT include improved chronic care management; improved drug management; real-time patient monitoring; expanded patient management; and so on.
5. Augmented and virtual realities
Augmented reality and virtual reality in the healthcare industry have numerous advantages. Healthcare institutions are using these technologies more and more to improve their digital solutions, build better relationships with patients, and give good medical training.
AR and VR can be used to make custom medical software for things like robotic surgery, medical training, physical therapy, personalized care, treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), emergency care, and other things.
As a result, by 2023, the AR-VR market is expected to be worth $4997.9 million.
Sixth, chatbots and their market benefits have already helped a large number of businesses, regardless of industry. Although the healthcare industry has only recently begun to employ this technology, it has a long way to go in the future. Some of the best use cases are setting up appointments, doing basic health checks, scaling customer service, reducing wait times, saving a lot of money, getting feedback from patients, and so on.
Custom Healthcare Software Development Must-Have Features
Your healthcare app will only be successful if it has appealing features and provides users with tangible benefits. Here are some of the key features that will greatly enhance the value of your app and help it stand out in the market.
What to Look for in Custom Healthcare Software
Health Monitoring
Your health app should be able to track and monitor things like your heart rate, pulse, calorie intake, blood sugar, blood pressure, etc.
Sign-in and registration
Your users should be able to register or sign in to the app in a variety of ways. They can do it through phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles, and so on.
Reminders and appointment scheduling
This feature benefits both parties. On the one hand, patients and users can schedule appointments and receive regular reminders about upcoming sessions; medication intake; sleep; diet; and much more. Medical professionals, on the other hand, can schedule and manage their appointments.
Information for doctors
A good healthcare app should give its users access to information about doctors and healthcare facilities, such as their availability, specialties, locations, years of experience, and so on.
Information for Patients
If you hire a custom healthcare software development company, make sure that the developers incorporate a patient information database into your app. It should store medical history, prescriptions, health reports, and other information that caregivers and patients can access at any time.
Geolocation
Integrating map services (Google Maps or any other) into your app can provide patients with immediate information and medical assistance. In case of an emergency, patients can find nearby hospitals, or hospitals can find nearby patients.
Reviews and Ratings
Allow your healthcare app users to provide feedback on their treatment experiences so that other patients can see it and decide whether or not to contact the doctors. This feature will also help your healthcare company build patient loyalty and credibility.
Video and voice calls
The advantages of telehealth services enter the picture here. With this technology, patients can talk to doctors and nurses in real-time without having to be there in person.
Online Chat Assistance
If physicians are unavailable, in-app chat should be available for users to leave a message or ask a question. They can also communicate with doctors in real time and share important media files or documents.
Payment Processing Gateway
You can integrate your app with various digital payment methods such as net banking, debit/credit cards, Stripe, PayPal, and so on. Secure payment gateways are an important part of custom software development for healthcare because they make it easy for users to pay for insurance, treatment, and other bills.
The list does not end there. Check out these additional features you can add to your healthcare app based on your needs:
- Analytics Photo Gallery for Users
- Information Availability (Diseases, Patient History, Medicines)
- Notifications via Push
- Access to EHRs/EMRs via Wearables
- Management of Reports
- Cross-Device Compatibility
